Pay it Forward
by Nikasha
Summary: Axel does a good deed and it comes back to bite him...Or does it? Akuroku One-shot. Happy akuroku day! Rated T for violence.


Happy Akuroku Day! (a day late *cries*)

Enjoy~

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It wasn't planned.

Axel heard loud sounds of fighting, and sighed inwardly; he planned to keep walking. Arguments of that sort were not his business, especially in the seedy city he called home. However, as he marched by, someone ran into him, making him stumble. He automatically turned and was instantly caught up in the fight.

It was a single small, blond boy against four large men. The boy only had a small knife, covered in blood.

The blond was clearly out of breath, slightly hunched with fear and exhaustion. He shook with adrenaline, and was covered in bleeding cuts and purpling bruises. He didn't give Axel one bit of attention, totally focused on the four grunts making their way back toward him, cackling and cracking crude jokes.

Two of the men were brunet, one with a bat and the other unarmed. The other two were a dark-skinned man with a bent metal pipe and a badly dyed blond with a switchblade.

Axel took in the scene. He took a deep, steadying breath as he made his decision. Then he grabbed the boy's shoulder. The kid whipped around, a snarl on his face, but Axel didn't look at him. He just pushed the boy behind him and faced the men.

They looked shocked.

"What're you doin', fucker?" the dark man laughed, tapping his pipe on the ground with a harsh clanging. "This doesn't concern ya."

"Maybe they's his bitch," one of the brunets snorted.

Axel didn't say anything. He stared them down, eyes dark green and closed off.

They shrugged and charged him with a yell. Axel shifted into position, bracing his feet and bringing his fists up to eye level. The brunet threw a punch and he ducked under it, giving him a uppercut to the jaw. The man fell back, bellowing and holding his mouth as blood seeped from between his teeth. The ebony man swung his pipe at the same moment the blond darted in and jabbed the knife at his ribs. Axel grabbed the blond's wrist, bending over to let the pipe pass over him. The blond realized what was happening and tried to tug away, but Axel held on and the pipe passed over him and smashed into his enemy's sternum. Axel finally let go and, winded, the blond fell back, clutching at his chest and dropping the switchblade. Axel pivoted and punched the dark man in the gut. He squeaked and collapsed to his knees, arms folded around him. Axel felt his skin tingle and lunged forward, rolling. He came up and spun to see the brunet with a bat glaring at him, lowering the bat from a just-completed swing. The other brunet was slowly crawling to his feet, spitting blood and wiping his mouth.

The armed man took one step. A small blond was at his throat in a moment, stabbing him in the ribs. He bellowed and swung, knocking the boy back. He growled, tearing the knife out and tossing it to the side. He stalked towards the boy, raising the bat over his head.

Axel was back in the game in a heartbeat, his own pulse pounding a strange rhythm in his ribcage. He caught the bat on the downswing, grunting as the force reverberated through his arms and making a loud smack against his palms. He wrenched it to the side and shouldered the brunet in the gut. He whipped his head up as the brunet's came down, colliding their skull with a loud crack.

The bat clattered to the ground and the gangster stumbled back, collapsing on his tailbone.

Axel grunted as a fist hit his side, just under his ribs. He groaned between gritted teeth, more of a short grunt, then turned and decked the remained brunet in the face.

The blond and dark-skinned man were standing again, glaring at him and nursing their wounds. The blond was hunched slightly, clutching at his chest. Clearly he had broken something.

"Let's jus' go," he wheezed. "We c'n come back later and shoot 'im through the fuckin' skull."

The other two clambered to his feet and they all took off slowly. Axel let them go, arms slowly lowering. He hissed and clutched at his side, lighting pressing at the skin and cringing. "That'll be one hell of a bruise," he muttered.

"Thank you."

Axel turned to face the blond. He was momentarily stunned into silence by large blue eyes, like the ocean depths.

The blond raised an eyebrow. "You okay there? I said thanks." He shook his head, blond spikes waving. "Whatever. You could have let me be, I would have been fine." He sighed, shrugging, then went to reclaim his knife. "Still, I owe you one."

"Why did they want you?" Axel managed to choke out.

The blond picked up his knife. He turned it over, looking at both sides. Then he began wiping it off on his pant seams. "Part of the wrong family in the wrong area. That's all you need to know."

Axel bristled. "I just saved your hide! You could at least give me an explanation."

The blond turned and gave the most dazzling smile Axel had ever seen. "My name is Roxas." Then he stuck his knife in his pocket and left.

Axel watched him walk away with a confusing mash of feelings.

Axel ducked his head, face shadowed by a hood. He looked up as two men stepped into his path and a deep ache entered his body. It was a familiar scene since he had stopped to help the blond youth; he had been ambushed on different streets in different areas of town at different times of day. They usually didn't have firearms, but this time he could see a glint of hard black showing next to the thumb hooked into a belt.

Axel sighed and stepped into the alley off to the side. He was pretty sure this was the end, and didn't want anyone else to get injured in the crossfire. He made his way to the dead-end, then turned to face the pair that followed him inside.

They slowly moved towards him. "Hey, buddy," the larger drawled. "Heard ya messed wit a few o' our brothers."

Axel didn't answer. It was the same song and dance, different participants. He was tired. He brought up his fists all the same.

Both laughed. They drew guns, pointed straight at his face. "You're dead meat," the smaller growled.

The alley rang with the sound of gunfire.

Axel stared. The gangsters fell one right after the other, collapsing at his feet. One of the guns clattered to the ground and spun, coming to a rest at his feet. He stared at it then slowly looked up.

The young blond—Roxas, he recalled—stood at the mouth of the side-street, a smoking pistol in his grip. He lowered it and stuck it into the back of his pants and moved forward to search the pair.

Axel checked out the bodies with a morbid curiosity. There was a bullet in one's shoulder and heart, and the other had one through the forehead. He stumbled back, hand over his mouth.

Roxas glanced up at him, a darkly amused glint to his eyes. It made the blue look like the ocean during a powerful storm. "Too much for you, Blood?"

Axel swallowed hard. "Blood?"

Roxas shrugged and finished rifling through their pockets. He grabbed the guns and began removing the clips and chambered bullets. "Outsiders that harm a family member are called Blood. Something about that saying 'Out for blood.' It's dumb. But you also have that damnably bright red hair." He secreted away the bullets and tossed away the guns. He stood and looked Axel up and down. "My debt is repaid."

"Your debt?" Axel inquired, confused.

"Well, not completely," Roxas sighed. "I almost have that clan wiped out. Then you won't be bothered any longer. Of course, they may assume you're mine, but I suppose that's to be expected."

"Wiped out?" Axel echoed, shaking his head. "I'm not following."

Roxas shrugged a shoulder. "I may not be an actual member, but I can still influence my family. We're working to destroy this clique so that you can walk freely again. Since you helped me, they're out to kill you for revenge and to save their credibility. But you figured that part out. So where's the confusion?"

"Why are you helping me?" Axel asked firmly. "I just need to be sure."

"Because you helped me," Roxas answered.

But Axel saw a different answer in his eyes.

The redhead walked forward, dismissing the bodies. He loomed over Roxas, their chests nearly touching. He noticed how much smaller Roxas was than him. "My name is Axel," he said simply.

The blinding smile returned to Roxas's face. Without missing a beat, he latched onto Axel's neck and pulled him down into a searing kiss. Axel was startled, but responded willingly enough. He did have a question the moment they separated, breathing hard. "How old are you?"

Roxas laughed. "Nineteen. What about you, cradle-robber?"

Axel made a face at the name. "Twenty-three. Just making sure I wasn't going to be arrested for something like that."

"You may still be arrested," Roxas admitted. "My family has a foothold in the police, but that doesn't mean they won't ever turn on us and use you."

"You make it sound like you're important to your family."

"I am." Roxas frowned. "I'm an only child, the only heir. Mother couldn't get pregnant again. But I'm not interested in their politics. Doesn't mean I don't get sucked into it."

Axel nodded. "Well, we'll figure it out. That is, if you're actually interested in dating me."

Roxas laughed again. "I should be saying that to you! I'm the criminal here."

The redhead glanced at the bodies. "I suppose so."

Roxas reached up and traced Axel's tattoos. "What are these for?"

Axel stared down at him, debating with himself. "My parents were killed my gang members. It's just in memory of them."

Roxas looked sad, but not surprised. "I'm sorry. There's too much of that around here."

Axel waved a hand. "Never mind. It's in the past, and I've moved on. We need to leave, before someone sees us."

Roxas grabbed onto his hand and grinned. "Welcome to the family, Axel."

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No lie, I didn't proofread this cause I'm super tired and since it's already a day late. Sry, I'll try to come back later and fix any errors.

Anyway, thanks for reading!


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